Chapter 163: “Niru”
Chapter 163 “Niru”
Duncan quietly gazed at “Niru”, which was placed in a box.
It was just an ordinary articulated figure, the image was very much in line with the “court maiden” style that was popular in the city-state a century ago, with beautiful blonde curls and a lace-adorned dress, the joints of its arms were more obvious than Alice’s old-fashioned spherical structure, and its face was made of ceramic, with its mouth and eyes showing the trademark seam structure of the old-fashioned dolls. iconic seam structure.
In all fairness, this doll is very delicately made, and has been collected and maintained so well that it is hard to believe that it has been lying in a box for a century, although it is far from being able to be compared to Alice’s almost life-like “doll”, this little one named “Niru” can also be compared to Alice’s “doll”. Although far from being able to compare with Alice’s almost life-like “doll”, this little one named “Niru” can be described as beautiful.
A hundred years ago, Lucrecia had bought another doll “Luni” from this store, which was paired with this little one, and now, the “Nilu” that had been left behind was lying quietly in the box, in front of Duncan.
Duncan himself today was just casually walked into this store, his purpose at the beginning, just want to force …… to buy a wig for Alice, and by the way to inquire about the maintenance of dolls.
Fate is really a wonderful thing.
“It doesn’t look at all like it’s been preserved for as long as a century,” Duncan said thoughtfully, “she’s only a little bit old.”
“Elves have always been known for making things to last – after all, we usually use them for a long, long time, and my craftsmanship in making dolls, while I don’t dare boast of being any kind of master, should exceed that of many of my peers, and I wouldn’t want to make a child I’ve carefully crafted that couldn’t even stay with me for a century or two! .”
“…… I understand, but this could be considered an antique piece for a human,” Duncan raised an eyebrow, he quickly snapped out of his sentimentality and realized that the doll in front of him, which was in a good state of preservation, was no simple commodity. “I don’t think I could afford this.”
He hadn’t forgotten that he had earned more than a year’s worth of living expenses for an average person from old Mr. Morris with a single centuries old dagger, and the beautifully crafted and well preserved mannequin …… in front of him couldn’t possibly be cheap.
“Antiques? I hadn’t really thought of it that way,” the shopkeeper smiled, a pleasant expression on his chubby face, “It’s not expensive, in fact if you buy the wig and the matching silver hairpiece, I can sell the doll at cost – back in the day, at cost of One hundred and forty-two solas.”
This time it was Duncan’s turn to be surprised, “Why?”
“Maybe it’s just fate,” the shopkeeper said slowly, “Niru has been lying quietly here with me for many years, and there has never been a fateful owner who could claim her, this ‘sister’ left alone is actually quite This ‘sister’ who was left alone is actually very lonely, and today there are not many guests here all day, but only you, a gentleman who loves dolls, talked to me about so many things, and also happened to talk about that Miss Lucrecia who took away ‘Luni’ a hundred years ago, and I feel that there may be a guidance from destiny… …”
“Fate ……” Duncan’s mouth quivered a little, he usually liked to use this word to fool others, but he never thought that he also had the time to be fooled by someone, and immediately after that he understood, and looked at the old elf woman in front of him with an odd look in his eyes, and “So what’s really happening is that it’s not selling right?”
Shopkeeper: “…… It’s fate.”
“Because it’s more or less tied to that cursed ‘Ebnomar’ family, it’s pressing to sell right?”
“…… It really is karma.”
“Could this doll have any other curses or properties like that? Like it’ll find itself after it’s lost? Or it will go to the kitchen to look for a kitchen knife while the person is sleeping ……”
The old woman’s eyes finally widened and her voice went up an octave, “I’ve gotten a priest specifically to exorcise the evil! I’ve kept all the certificates of exorcism ……”
Duncan chuckled, “See, it’s true that the doll can’t be sold because someone suspects it carries a curse right?”
Old Woman: “……”
“I own an antique store in the lower city,” Duncan exhaled, “Antique store in the lower city, you know.”
“…… I just don’t like dealing with business people, especially ones like you,” the old woman shook her head and sighed, “Well, it’s true that for such a reason, Nelu wasn’t able to sell for a long time, then the older it got, the more it simply pressed into storage – take it at a discounted price of seventy-five solas if you really want it, at least let me recoup the cost of getting a priest to exorcise it back in the day ……”
“Deal.” Duncan agreed without waiting for the other party to finish.
In any case, he was indeed greatly interested in this doll, even if there was no evidence to prove that there was any connection between this little guy and Lucrecia, just based on the factor of “destiny”, he decided to buy this doll.
This was his subconscious reaction after he suddenly learned that he had a pair of “sons and daughters”: maybe the siblings would appear at some point, and then God knows what trouble would occur, and now he had seen something related to Lucrecia! And now he saw something related to Lucrecia – whether it’s useful or not, first get it to his side and then study it slowly.
In a world where there are extraordinary powers and all kinds of weird things, such things that have a “connection” can often play a role in the occult.
“Then ‘Niru’ is all yours,” the old lady shopkeeper was a bit stunned by Duncan’s quick response, probably regretting why she hadn’t reported the price a bit earlier, but she soon shook her head and pushed the box containing the doll forward, but before Duncan reached for it, she couldn’t help herself. Before reaching out, she couldn’t help but speak up again, “You must take good care of the child …… While I can see that you are a gentleman who genuinely loves dolls, I would caution against seeing Nilu as a cheap piece of merchandise.”
“That’s for sure,” Duncan said as he took the wooden box and closed the lid, then looked at the wig and hairpiece he had just picked out, “How much do these two pieces add up to?”
“425 sola, one price.” Duncan instantly wore a somewhat toothy expression.
In the lower city, this is a resident’s family’s living expenses for two months! But in the uptown area …… it is only enough to buy two “accessories” for the luxuries of the rich.
He was even a little shaken for a moment, wondering if he simply did not want it, but quickly put away this thought.
This is the gift he promised to Alice (although Alice may be in a more subtle mood when she receives the gift), on the other hand, considering today’s harvest in the doll store, this price does not seem unacceptable.
After reassuring himself a little in his mind, Duncan exhaled softly and prepared to pay the money obediently.
Only when he was handing over the money, he suddenly remembered something and couldn’t help but ask one more question, “By the way, why did Lucrecia only buy away Luni back then, but didn’t take away ‘Nilu’ as her sister?”
“…… You really want to know?” Upon hearing this, the shopkeeper revealed a slightly inscrutable expression, “This matter …… can be another secret related to the Ebunomar family.”
Duncan subconsciously came a little closer, “That makes me even more curious.”
“Then you should settle your bill first.”
Duncan was stunned, and closed the bill in tears, “Can you tell me now?”
“Oh, it’s nothing really,” the shopkeeper’s old lady casually said while collecting the money, “Those two children didn’t bring enough money back then – Lucrecia was in tears when she left, and at that time she also said that in the future when she had money she would definitely take Nee-Loo away too, but now it looks like she should have forgotten about it. Lu also take away, but now look should be forgotten ……”
Duncan: “……”
Is this the old lady in front of me painting a clear picture or are all the elves in this world a bit of some kind of big disease?
……
On the Lost Country, which rocked slightly with the ebb and flow of the sea, Alice returned to the upper deck after carrying the last of her things to the hold, and then the first thing she saw was the captain, who was standing quietly near the side of the ship and seemed to be lost in thought.
“Captain~~” the doll lady happily approached, “I’ve delivered everything to the cabin! The ingredients and cookware went to the galley, and everything else went to the captain’s cabin!”
“Well,” Duncan snapped back, he breathed a soft sigh of relief, his eyes then focusing on Alice, “hard work.”
“Captain …… are you well now?” Alice looked Duncan up and down and asked hesitantly, “Earlier you suddenly looked strange, are you really alright?”
Duncan shook his head, “No need to worry, minor problem.”
His mind was actually still in a bit of turmoil right now, filled with the names Tirion and Lucrecia that popped up out of nowhere and the possible troublesome things behind them, and looking at the cursed doll in front of him that definitely had a connection with the Frost Queen made it even harder for him to calm down, but in the end, he managed to squash a lot of the words back.
Regardless of whether there is a connection with the Frost Queen or not, Alice is just a doll that doesn’t know anything, and there are some things that it would be better to discuss …… with her than to go to that illiterate person, Shirley.
At least Sherry had a more educated dog by her side.
He turned his head to look at the pigeon resting on the deck, whose figure flickered in the air for a moment before disappearing over the deck in a burst of fire.
Alice looked curiously at the spot where the flames had disappeared, “Has Aey gone ‘shipping’ again?”
“Well, not a lot of stuff this time,” Duncan nodded softly, then looked at Alice with a small smile, “It’s a gift for you.”
Alice’s eyes lit up, “A gift? Really a gift for me? Captain you are so ……”
Before Ms. Doll’s words fell, a swirl of pale green flames suddenly appeared over the deck next to her – Aey completed the teleportation from the city-state of Prand to the Lost Country in the blink of an eye, and a new batch of supplies appeared in Alice’s eyes between the rising flames.
The second half of the mannequin’s sentence was immediately lost.
The first thing that caught her eye was a wig ……
(End of chapter)